Briton missing on Everest

A British man is feared dead after he went missing on Mount Everest amid fears of overcrowding on the mountain.

Dan Paterson, 40, and his Nepali guide Pastenji Sherpa, 23, reached the summit just before 5am on Tuesday 21 May but have not been heard from since, according to his partner.

Footage showed crowds still queuing for the summit, which climbers say puts climbers at increased risk.

Mr. Paterson’s partner set up a online crowdfunding page in an “urgent” appeal to find him, saying the helicopter and specialist search teams could cost around £150,000. The Go Fund Me site has so far reached £105,000.

It says: “My name is Becks Woodhead and I am the partner of Dan ‘Pat’ Paterson. Dan’s family and I urgently need your help.

“Tragically, during his descent, Daniel disappeared and there has been no contact or sighting since.

“Time is of the essence in a situation like this and we are mobilizing all the resources we can to locate Dan.

“Running a search and rescue operation on Everest is an incredibly complex and expensive endeavor. We are not experts in this and there is no guarantee of success”.

Mr Paterson’s disappearance comes after a snow and ice slide on the mountain.

Videos and photos on social media show what appear to be hundreds of people on Hillary Step, a near-vertical rock face near the summit Everest at about 8,800 m, in the last days.

A cornice – a mass of hardened snow above the edge of a precipice – is believed to have collapsed, dragging several climbers down the side of the mountain.

Overcrowding on the world’s highest mountain has been blamed for the rise in deaths, with climate change is also believed to play a role making the journey more dangerous.

Kul Bahadur Gurung, secretary general of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said in 2019 – when 11 people died in the March to May climbing season – that “there were more people on Everest than there should be”.

Mountaineer Alan Hinkes, who reached the summit of Everest in 1996, told Sky News: “You can only survive for a few hours at that altitude. It is the death zone, due to lack of oxygen, air pressure and very low temperatures.

“So sitting in one of those queues is not a good idea, because you die slowly at those altitudes.”

Vinayak Malla, an International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) guide who scaled Everest on May 21, said on Instagram that reaching the summit “felt unlike my previous experiences”.

She said: “After we got to the top, we crossed the Hillary Step, the traffic was moving slowly, then suddenly a ledge collapsed a few meters in front of us. There was also a cornice below us.

“As the cornice collapsed, four climbers nearly died but were caught by the rope and self-rescued.

“Unfortunately, two climbers are still missing. We tried to cross but it was impossible due to traffic on the fixed line.”

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The founder of 8K Expeditions, a guiding company used by both men, noted that they searched for the pair after they “heroically” reached the summit of Everest at 4.40am (11.55pm UK).

But Lakpa Sherpa added: “Despite exhaustive search efforts, we regret to confirm that Daniel and Pastenji could not be recovered.”

The online crowdfunding page describes Mr Paterson as “a beloved son, brother, partner, friend and a proud co-owner of Wakefield Crossfit”.

His partner said she has a “passion for Leeds United” and hopes “in light of the upcoming play-off final” she can bring him home.

At least 12 people died climbing the mountain last year, according to the online website Outside. The figure means 2023 had the fourth highest number of deaths in Everest’s history.